Martha E. Church

Martha E. Church (1931 – January 27, 2019 ) was an American geographer, professor, and college president. She was the first female president of Hood College.

Early life Church was a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Eleanor Boyer and Walter S. Church. Her father was a civil engineer and the superintendent of construction for Duquesne Light. Her family were Presbyterians. She had three degrees in geography.

Career She was a geography instructor at Carlow University and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Under her leadership there, the college's endowment grew from $3 million to $39 million. She was the chairman of the board of trustees of Hood College from 2006 to 2008.

Awards and honors Church received a distinguished teacher award at Wilson College. In 1988, she became one of the first female members of the Cosmos Club. She was a member of the American Association of University Women and Sigma Delta Epsilon honor society.

Hood died at the age of 88 on January 27, 2019. Hood College held a memorial service for Church on May 5, 2019, in Coffman Chapel.

Selected publications

"A Bibliography of Basic Books on Geography". with Robert E. Huke and Wilbur Zelinksy. The Professional Geographer vol. 16, no. 4 (1964): 31"Teacher Education: A Vision for the Future". in A View from the Top Liberal Arts Presidents on Teacher Education. Thomas Warren, editor. Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education, 1990. p. 65–72. "The Dwindling Enrollment Pool: Issues and Opportunities." in Students and Their Institutions. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1978. "Potential Impact of Recent National Reports on Preservice Art Education". in The Preservice Challenge: Discipline-Based Art Education and Recent Reports on Higher Education: Seminar Proceedings, August 8–15, 1987 Snowbird, Utah a National Invitational Seminar. Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 102. "Preparing the next Generation of Academic Leaders". with Brown, David G., Richard E. Chait et al. Liberal Education vol. 76, no. 1 (1990): 32. "A Model of Sophomore Community Service". University-Community Partnerships: Current Practices. United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Policy Development and Research. Office of University Partnerships, 1995. p. 9–10. "A View From One Presidential Office." in Against the Tide Career Paths of Women Leaders in American and British Higher Education. Karen Doyle Walton, editor. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1996.